New To Chickens

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Talia0508

Talia0508

Hatching
6 Years
Oct 18, 2013
2
0
7
Hello, This site has been very helpful and I am very much looking forward to this spring when my boyfriend and I start our very first chicken coop. We have decided to do this for lots of reasons I have a five year old son and knew that it would be a great learning experience for him and plus the eggs and entertainment that comes with it. We live in North East Colorado out in the country with 12 horses and one blue heeler, this spring I will have a large garden and chicken coop. My bf will be building the chicken coop this winter and placing it this spring. I have been doing a lot of research and just had a couple question. We would like to start out small with the chickens as we are new to this and don't want to get over whelmed but we weren't sure what breed of chicken to get for North east Colorado. The winters are cold and snowy at times and our summers can be very hot with little moisture. I want to make sure that we are doing this right the first time so we don't look back on it later and regret it. If there are any suggestions from anybody and hopefully from people who live where we do we would love to have them.

Thank You!
 
Hello & welcome!
The 'breeds' section here is very helpful about different sorts of chickens. My favorites are Rhode Island reds. They are friendly, inquisitive & personable - as well as good layers. For a 1st time chicken I don't think you can do better. I think they would probably do quite well in your winter climate and with shade/ventilation should be ok for the summer months. Best of luck to you, Sue
 
Welcome to our forum! Many or most breeds would probably do fine where you live. Large combs are a little more subject to frostbite, but in a well ventilated coop, frostbite is not a problem im most of the US. Chickens are much more sensitive to heat than cold, so in summer you will be grateful for a coop that is in the shade and catches breezes well. Mine is quite open air and I still run a box fan all summer. I'll give you some good links about coops that I keep. The first two articles were written by a Canadian member and are well known here. The main advice I will give is, build as large as you can. More comfortable for the birds and for you.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...-go-out-there-and-cut-more-holes-in-your-coop

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/winter-coop-temperatures

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/163417/please-show-me-your-hot-weather-coops/0_20

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/445004/woods-style-house-in-the-winter/0_20 (an expensive coop, but makes it clear how open air a coop can be, even in snow areas)

Also, I'd suggest you check out your state's thread:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/68894/colorado/0_20

Good luck, and have fun on BYC and with your chickens!
 
Hi and welcome to BYC from northern Michigan :D

You might want to look in the Where am I - Where are You section of the Forum for the Colorado thread, and check with other folks there. Google the Henderson chicken chart for a good breed resource.
 
Thank you guys!! That Information has been helpful! Can't wait to get working on the coop!
 
Welcome to BYC
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Looks like Flockwatcher got you covered! Enjoy the site and your chicken adventures :)
 

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